Daniel B.
Yelp
Aqua Grill rates somewhere between four and five stars for me. I absolutely loved the steak here. All of the other food and drink I had was delicious too and service was great. However, we sat on the patio and were bombarded by bugs later in the night. I don't knock this place too much for that, though. Overall, I really enjoyed our experience and recommend this restaurant and bar for a nice meal out and/or after-dinner drinks. The cuisine is seafood and New American.
Aqua Grill is located in the large Sawgrass Village shopping center, situated at the entrance to TPC Sawgrass (famous golf course, home to the PGA Tour's annual Players Championship tournament). At the time of writing this review, the business has been around for about 35+ years. It opened in its current space in October 2015. This is a tried-and-true, successful, local business.
The restaurant is in its own freestanding building on the south end of the property, facing a pond and fountain, and the A1A. There's plenty of free parking on-site. This is a nice place (trends upscale) with a somewhat trendy and modern vibe. The atmosphere is casual. The dining room has cool indoor waterfalls and ambient lighting. As mentioned above, we sat outside on the patio. The patio is fully-covered and faces the pond and fountain. During the daytime, sunset, and into the night, it was pleasant. The bugs came out around 8-9pm or so. Shortly thereafter, the dining room and patio closed and we made our way to the bar.
On a Friday night, the bar was absolutely packed. The bar room is just on one side of the building and it's not terribly big. This is more of a restaurant anyway. The bar has a variety of seating and lots of TVs. I almost got poked in the eye by an older drunk woman trying not to fall as she stumbled her way out. Good times.
For dinner, my wife and I had the following:
Appetizer
* Fried Green Tomatoes - bacon, feta cheese, Thai chili sauce
Salads
* A.G. Salad (2) - field greens, romaine lettuce, heirloom tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, croutons, radish, Manchego cheese, and garden herb & roasted garlic ranch dressing
Entrees
* Grilled Center Cut "Prime" New York Strip - grilled medium rare and served with creamed Brussels sprouts, smoked bacon, shrimp scampi, compound butter, and roasted garlic whipped potatoes
* Vidalia-Crusted Chilean Sea Bass - Maine lobster, corn risotto, South Carolina peach chutney, fried leeks, broccolini
Dessert
* Key Lime Pie (2) - whipped cream, fresh berries
Drinks
* Gimlet
* Aperol Spritz
* Gin and Tonic
* Old Fashioned
* Espresso Martini
Everything was beautifully-presented and tasty.
The Fried Green Tomatoes were excellent. They were delectably crispy on the outside and hot and succulent on the inside. The Thai chili sauce and the pieces of feta on top added more flavor to what was already a flavor-packed dish. The A.G. (Aqua Grill) Salad was also very good. The veggies were fresh and crisp. The yellow heirloom tomatoes were high-quality and added delightful bursts of umami. The slices of Manchego were probably my favorite part of the salad and the garden herb & roasted garlic ranch dressing was terrific.
The Grilled Center Cut "Prime" New York Strip was phenomenal. Easily my favorite dish of the night. The quality of the steak was superb. It was seasoned and cooked to perfection. The strip was tender, rich, and extra savory. Every bite was quite gratifying. The Vidalia-Crusted Chilean Sea Bass was also fantastic. The filet had a wonderfully moist and flaky texture, and the skin had an appetizing char. The dish was well-garnished and had all sorts of interesting flavors, from the sweet and tangy peach chutney to the thick and creamy corn risotto.
The Key Lime Pie, which was more par for the course, was yummy. The "fresh berries" included strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, and blueberry.
All of the cocktails were well-made and delicious. No one drink stood out from another. They were all good.